Ralls County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,355. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is New London. The county was organized November 16, 1820, and named for Daniel Ralls, Missouri state legislator. Ralls County is part of the Hannibal, MO Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Quincy-Hannibal, IL-MO Combined Statistical Area.

History

Ralls County was one of several along the Mississippi River settled in the early years primarily by European-American migrants from the

Upper South The Upland South and Upper South are two overlapping cultural and geographic subregions in the inland part of the Southern United States. They differ from the Deep South and Atlantic coastal plain by terrain, history, economics, demographics, ...

, especially

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and Tennessee. They brought slaves and slaveholding traditions with them, and quickly started cultivating crops similar to those in Middle Tennessee and Kentucky: hemp and tobacco. They also brought characteristic antebellum architecture and culture. Ralls is considered one of the counties in the outer ring of what is called the Little Dixie region. Most of the Little Dixie counties are located further west along the Missouri River, from Callaway County west.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.9%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Marion County (north) * Pike County, Illinois (northeast) * Pike County (southeast) * Audrain County (south) * Monroe County (west)

Major highways

* ** * * * ** * * *

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 10,167 people, 3,736 households, and 2,783 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 4,564 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.93%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.11% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.04% from other races, and 0.62% from two or more races. Approximately 0.44% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 30.1% were of American, 27.3% German, 10.5% English and 10.4% Irish ancestry. There were 3,736 households, out of which 34.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.20% were married couples living together, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.50% were non-families. 21.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.95. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.20% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 26.50% from 45 to 64, and 14.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,094, and the median income for a family was $41,955. Males had a median income of $28,139 versus $20,238 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $16,456. About 6.60% of families and 8.70% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 9.70% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census

Education

Public schools

* Ralls County R-II School District – Center **Ralls County Elementary School (PK-05) **Mark Twain Junior High School (06-08) **Mark Twain High School (09-12)

Public libraries

* Ralls County Library

Communities

Cities

* Center * Hannibal (mostly in Marion County) * Monroe City (mostly in Monroe County and partly in Marion County) * New London (county seat) * Perry

Village

* Rensselaer

Unincorporated communities

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

* Flint Hill * Greenlawn * Hassard * Hatch * Huntington * Hutchison * Ilasco * Madisonville * Salt River * Saverton * Sheil * Spalding * West Hartford

Politics

Local

Historically, the Democratic Party predominantly controlled politics at the local level in Ralls County. However, all local seats up for election with a Republican candidate during the November 2016 election cycle were won by Republicans. Republicans now hold the office of Sheriff, Coroner, and Western District Commissioner.

State

Ralls County is a part of Missouri's 40h District in the Missouri House of Representatives and is represented by Jim Hansen (R- Frankford). Ralls County is a part of Missouri's 18th District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Brian Munzlinger (R- Williamstown).

Federal

Ralls County is included in Missouri's 6th Congressional District and is currently represented by Sam Graves (R- Tarkio) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

References

External links

Digitized Historical Photos of Ralls County
from Digital online collection of public domain photos Photos of historical Hannibal, Mississippi River scenes in Ralls County, historical Saint Paul and Saint Peter's Brush Creek Cemeteries in Ralls County, Missouri
Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Ralls County
from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books {{Coord, 39.53, -91.53, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MO_source:UScensus1990 1820 establishments in Missouri Territory Populated places established in 1820 Little Dixie (Missouri) Hannibal, Missouri micropolitan area Missouri counties on the Mississippi River